IMDb RATING
6.4/10
1.8K
YOUR RATING
A man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real.A man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real.A man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real.
Jeff York
- Deputy Torrence
- (as Jeff Yorke)
Joey Ray
- Contractor
- (scenes deleted)
Loyette Thomson
- Waitress
- (scenes deleted)
Gladys Blake
- Bank Clerk
- (uncredited)
Jack Collins
- Man
- (uncredited)
Leander De Cordova
- Man
- (uncredited)
Christian Drake
- Elevator Operator
- (uncredited)
Stanley Farrar
- Bank Patron
- (uncredited)
Julia Faye
- Rental Home Owner
- (uncredited)
John Harmon
- Clyde Bilyou
- (uncredited)
Michael Harvey
- Bob Clune
- (uncredited)
Stuart Holmes
- Man with Packages in Elevator
- (uncredited)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film marked Maxwell Shane's directorial debut, and the feature film debut of DeForest Kelley (1920--1999), a prolific character actor in both motion pictures and television who was best known for his role as "Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy" on the television series Star Trek and its subsequent feature film adaptations.
- GoofsWhen Vince Grayson is ordered by Belknap to write his suicide note, he misspells Belknap as "Belnap", leaving out the "k".
- Quotes
Vince Grayson: I've got an honest man's conscience... in a murderer's body.
- Crazy creditsAuthor Cornell Woolrich is billed as "William Irish", one of his regular magazine pseudonyms.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Carolina (2003)
Featured review
Swampy, Minor Noir Of Interest to Dr. McCoy Fans
Okay, I admit it, a lot of the charm of this really low budget effort comes from Deforest "Bones" Kelley. Kelley's homely mugg was made for b-picture third bananas / villains and this rare, unlikely turn as the goodguy lead (his first credit) is as much the source of FEAR IN THE NIGHT's enjoyment as anything. Kelley gives a nice try in a role he wasn't really built to play, overcoming several overly melodramatic moments with generally naturalistic and believable reactions to the rather ridiculous and murky situation he finds himself in. Direction and other performances are unremarkable, though a little bit of stylistic cinematography in the flashbacks isn't bad.
NIGHTMARE was the slicker remake which came about nine years later with Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy, and slightly more money, but I would suggest that this earlier version has more suspense and rooting interest (Kelley is far more sympathetic than McCarthy.) More importantly, the flimsy plot holds together better in FEAR IN THE NIGHT, omitting the poorly motivated Edward G. Robinson character entirely. This is far from a great movie; it's not even really a good noir, but Kelley's rare lead performance is fascinating and he makes us care about what happens. Anyone who is into Star Trek classic will probably be as quickly hypnotized by his young non-baggy-eyed presence as Deforest is by the badguys.
NIGHTMARE was the slicker remake which came about nine years later with Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy, and slightly more money, but I would suggest that this earlier version has more suspense and rooting interest (Kelley is far more sympathetic than McCarthy.) More importantly, the flimsy plot holds together better in FEAR IN THE NIGHT, omitting the poorly motivated Edward G. Robinson character entirely. This is far from a great movie; it's not even really a good noir, but Kelley's rare lead performance is fascinating and he makes us care about what happens. Anyone who is into Star Trek classic will probably be as quickly hypnotized by his young non-baggy-eyed presence as Deforest is by the badguys.
helpful•266
- secragt
- Mar 23, 2006
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- And So Scared to Death
- Filming locations
- 1203 West 7th Street, Los Angeles, California, USA(Commodore Hotel)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 12 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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